2 Foundation Action January/February 2012

was hired as a makeup driv-er during the show’s firsttwo seasons.

As more Local 509 mem-bers became available towork on “Army Wives,” adispute arose among vari-ous Teamster officials overwho should be eligible towork on the program.Coghill was eventuallyremoved from Local 509’s“Movie Referral List”because he did not belongto that union while itsmembers continued toreceive preferential accessto jobs on the set of “ArmyWives.”

Worker faces jobdiscrimination becausehe didn’t belong to theright union

Coghill responded to Local 509’sbiased hiring procedure by filingunfair labor practice charges againstthe union on the grounds that federallabor law prohibits union officialsfrom discriminating againstnonunion employees. National Rightto Work Foundation staff attorneyssubsequently persuaded anAdministrative Law Judge to awardCoghill over $55,000 in back pay.Union lawyers unsuccessfullyappealed the ruling to the NLRB,which has now affirmed the judge’sdecision in its entirety.

However, the union is not givingup. After losing before the most pro-Big Labor NLRB in history, it has

Rev. Fred Fowler Chairman, Board of TrusteesReed Larson Executive Committee ChairmanPatrick Semmens Editor in ChiefRay LaJeunesse, Jr. Vice President and Legal DirectorMark Mix President

The Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employeeswhose human or civil rights have been violated by abuses of compulsory unionism. All contributions

to the Foundation are tax deductible under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Distributed by theNational Right to Work Legal Defense and Education Foundation, Inc.

8001 Braddock Road, Springfield, Virginia 22160www.nrtw.org • 1-800-336-3600

Foundation Action

Foundation Helps Driver Win $55K in Back Pay from Teamster BossesTeamster officials discriminated against nonunion employees working on the ‘Army Wives’ television show

CHARLESTON, SC – TheNational Labor RelationsBoard (NLRB), the federalagency charged with admin-istering most private sectorlabor law, has upheld anAdministrative Law Judge’sdecision awarding over$55,000 in back pay to a tele-vision employee who wasdiscriminated against byTeamster officials. TheBoard’s ruling stems fromunfair labor practice chargesfiled by Troy Coghill, a studiodriver who received free legalassistance from NationalRight to Work Foundationstaff attorneys.

Teamster Local 509 unionofficials are party to amonopoly bargaining agreement withABC in Charleston, South Carolina thatforces workers to go through the union’shiring hall to get a job with the studio.

Because Local 509 union members wereworking on other sets when productionof “Army Wives” started, Coghill – amember of a different Teamster local –

Local Teamster bosses wouldn’t let a nonunion worker keep hisjob on Lifetime’s popular “Army Wives” television show.

see ARMY WIVES page 8

January/February 2012 Foundation Action 3

dues had been misappropriated forunion political activism, severalnonunion civil servants approachedFoundation staff attorneys for help.

“Freedom of association doesn’t justmean the freedom to support groups orcauses you believe in,” continued Knox.“It also means the freedom to withholdsupport from organizations you dis-agree with.”

Years of hard-foughtlitigation culminate inSupreme Court hearing

The Supreme Court argument fol-lowed years of litigation since the law-suit was first filed in 2005. In 2008, afederal district court ruled that the SEIU

WASHINGTON, DC – On January10, 2012, Dianne Knox, a courageousCalifornia civil servant, finally madeher case before the Supreme Court.After years of litigation against thepowerful Service EmployeesInternational Union (SEIU), theSupreme Court heard oral argumentson the legality of a union scheme thatmisused nonunion employees’ dues forpolitical activism.

With the help of Foundation staffattorneys, Knox doggedly pursued aclass-action lawsuit for over 36,000California state employees who wereforced to pay into an SEIU “politicalfight back fund” in 2005.

“The SEIU compelled manynonunion employees to make financialcontributions to an organization theyhad no desire to join or support,” saidKnox. “That action violates a bedrockprinciple of American democracy andshould be forcefully repudiated by theSupreme Court.”

SEIU raises political cashfrom nonunion workers toprotect union specialprivileges

In 2005, Knox and her nonunion col-leagues were blindsided by an SEIU“special assessment” aimed at raisingmoney to defeat several ballot initia-tives, including one measure that wouldhave required union officials to receiveemployee consent before spending theirunion dues on political activism.

Alarmed at the prospect of losing oneof their most jealously guarded privi-leges, union politicos swung into action,imposing a “special assessment” to raisemillions of dollars to defeat the ballotinitiatives. Once they learned that their

Local was required to provide a noticeto nonunion employees about theassessment, allow them to opt-out ofpaying into the union political fund,provide a refund of monies spent onunion politics, and pay interest from thedates of the deductions to nonmemberswho chose to opt out.

Oral arguments highlightinjustice of forcingnonunion employees tosupport union politicalactivism

After SEIU lawyers appealed the case,a Ninth Circuit panel reversed that

Foundation Attorneys Take on SEIU Forced Dues Political Scheme at Supreme Court

36,000 California civil servants were forced to support union ‘political fight back fund’

Foundation staff attorney Jim Young (left), lead plaintiff Dianne Knox (middle), andRight to Work President Mark Mix (right) address the media following oral arguments inthe Foundation’s latest Supreme Court case.

see FOUNDATION CHALLENGES page 5

4 Foundation Action January/February 2012

Complying with the IAM union boss-es’ request, Obama’s NLRB ActingGeneral Counsel Lafe Solomon filed afederal complaint last Spring allegingBoeing’s actions were “inherentlydestructive” of worker rights. Inresponse, the three South CarolinaBoeing workers – whose jobs were indanger of being terminated if the IAMunion bosses and Solomon succeeded intheir persecution of Boeing – moved tointervene in the NLRB’s unprecedentedcase.

The NLRB Administrative Law Judge(ALJ) in Seattle denied the workers’request but was forced to allow them tointervene in the case after the Board inWashington, D.C. ruled that theemployees could indeed have a partial

role in the proceedings.

Workers “finessed” out ofprocess

Despite the three workers’ intervenorstatus, IAM union bosses and companyofficials struck a backroom deal tolocate production of the company’s 737Max and other future airplane produc-tion in Washington State in exchangefor the IAM union bosses agreement todrop their complaint.

The transcript of the hearing endingthe case in which NLRB, Boeing, andIAM union lawyers participated showsthat the workers were explicitly shut outof the proceedings.

According to the transcript, the judgeacknowledged that he had “finessed” theworkers out of the process, whichoccurred without any notice to theworkers. Moreover, the transcriptshows that the judge did not discuss theterms of the secret deal struck betweencompany and union officials, but whenthe judge asked about those terms theother attorneys asked if they could gooff the record.

Workers point out unionboss conspiracy againstRight to Work

Because the hearing took place tele-phonically, Foundation staff attorneysrepresenting the North CharlestonBoeing employees would have been ableto participate with virtually no advancenotice. Citing this obvious injustice,National Right to Work Foundationattorneys took the unusual step of ask-ing the Chief NLRB ALJ to investigatethe conduct of the ALJ who oversaw the

CHARLESTON, SC – With ongoinglegal aid from the National Right toWork Foundation, Charleston-areaBoeing employees Dennis Murray,Cynthia Ramaker, and Meredith Going,Sr. are continuing the fight againstunion boss retaliation and Big Labor’snew line of attack on state Right to Worklaws.

The three Boeing workers filed a fed-eral charge in late December against theunion behind the National LaborRelations Board’s (NLRB) recently-dropped high-profile case againstBoeing for locating a production line inRight to Work South Carolina. Thecharge comes in the wake of the recentannouncement of a backroom deal cutbetween the International Associationof Machinists (IAM), its Local 751union, and Boeing officials which led tothe end of the NLRB’s case.

As previously reported inFoundation Action, the three weregranted intervenor status in the NLRB’spersecution against Boeing by the NLRBin Washington, D.C. However, theworkers were shut out of the NLRBhearing that led to the conclusion of thecase.

Judge forced to recognizeworkers’ rights

In 2010, IAM union bosses based inSeattle, Washington, asked PresidentObama’s NLRB to take the unprecedent-ed step of trying to halt Boeing’s produc-tion of its 787 Dreamliner airplane inSouth Carolina because of the state’spopular Right to Work law. IAM unionbosses instead wanted the NLRB toforce the company to produce the planesin Washington State, which does nothave a Right to Work law.

South Carolina Boeing Workers Fight Union Boss Attacks on Right to Work States

Workers shut out of backroom deal between company, union and government lawyers

Machinist union bosses tried to eliminateCharleston Boeing worker DennisMurray’s (pictured) and his coworkers’jobs in retaliation for exercising theirrights to remove the unwanted unionfrom the workplace.

January/February 2012 Foundation Action 5

ing someone’s money contrary to thatperson’s conscience,” said Kennedy.“And that’s what the First Amendmentstands against.”

“Over the course of many years,Dianne Knox has never faltered in herefforts to hold union bosses accountablefor illegally confiscating nonunionemployees’ dues for political activism,”said Ray LaJeunesse, Vice President andLegal Director of the National Right toWork Foundation. “We hope theSupreme Court will reward Mrs. Knox’sresolve by reaffirming the rights of allcivil servants to refrain from supportingunion politics.”

The Supreme Court will issue a rulingin the case sometime before June.

Foundation Challenges SEIU Forced Dues Scheme at U.S. Supreme Court

decision in December 2010. On June 27,2011, the United States Supreme Courtannounced it would review the NinthCircuit’s ruling.

Although SEIU officials eventuallyrefunded the confiscated dues in aneffort to defuse the case, Foundationattorneys argued that this concessionwas not enough. As Justice Scalia notedduring oral arguments, nonunion civilservants were required to fork over theequivalent of “an interest free loan” tounion officials in the midst of a heatedpolitical battle.

Justice Kennedy also suggested thatworkers should have to affirmativelyopt-in to paying for union politicsbefore their money could be used.

“[The] point . . . was that you’re tak-

continued from page 3

“You’re taking

someone’s money

contrary to that person’s

conscience... and that’s

what the

First Amendment

stands against.”

- Justice Kennedy

hearing.In their most-recently filed NLRB

charge, the Charleston Boeing workersspell out how IAM union bosses abusedthe NLRB’s adjudicative process to bullythe company into locating work inforced-unionism Washington State.The workers explain how the IAMunion bosses’ accusations againstBoeing had a chilling effect on Boeingand other companies, deterring themfrom locating work in Right to Workstates to avoid costly legal battles.

In practice, employees in the now 23states with Right to Work laws barringforced union dues and fees would be themain targets of Big Labor’s new line ofattack on workers’ rights, because thosestates are where most U.S. private-sectorjob growth has occurred in recentdecades and where more job providersare locating their production.

The charge also details how IAMunion bosses retaliated against theCharleston workers after the workers at

the plant expelled the IAM from theirworkplace before the Dreamliner pro-duction line was located there.

The charge points out that, if the IAMunion hierarchy still had a presence inthe South Carolina plant, then theSouth Carolina workers’ jobs would nothave been at risk. Even Solomon admit-ted that before the U.S. HouseCommittee on Oversight andGovernment Reform.

Right to Work’s check onunion boss power hangs inthe balance

“How come the NLRB seems to beupholding the rights of the union andnot the rights of the nonunion workerswhen [federal labor law]… is supposedto promote fairness and equality for allworkers?” asked Charleston Boeingemployee Dennis Murray in the

Charleston Post and Courier newspaper.“Those of us in right-to-work states …are coming up on the short end of thestick.”

“Unfortunately, the Obama LaborBoard seems willing to go along withBig Labor’s abuse of labor law – which issupposedly intended to protect therights of individual workers – to bullyjob providers into forcing more workersinto union-dues-paying ranks or else,”stated Mark Mix, President of NationalRight to Work. “The so-called settle-ment between Boeing and union offi-cials has not settled anything at all, asthe rogue NLRB continues to pose asevere threat to workers in Right toWork states.”

“As Right to Work’s ability to checkunion boss abuse and intimidationhangs in the balance, your NationalRight to Work Foundation will do what-ever it takes to ensure employees’ rightsare safe from the radical Obama LaborBoard,” added Mix.

6 Foundation Action January/February 2012

The NationalRight to WorkFound a t i on’slegal team has anew addition:Sarah Hartsfield.She will assist inthe Foundation’sburgeoning, cut-ting-edge legal

programs to blunt Big Labor’s growinginfluence in the public sector, enforceindividual employees’ rights againstcompulsory unionism, and find newprecedents to increase workplace free-dom for America’s workers.

Hartsfield is originally fromAndrews, Texas, but grew up inAustin. She brings to the Foundation’slegal aid program a real commitmentto defending and advancing individualliberty against the looming threat ofcompulsory unionism.

Hartsfield holds a bachelors degreein Government from the University ofTexas, where she graduated in 2008.In 2011, she graduated from theRegent University School of Law,home of the Reed Larson Chair forLabor Law, currently occupied bylong-time National Right to WorkFoundation staff attorney BruceCameron.

Before joining the Foundation,Hartsfield served as an intern for theSinger Legal Group in Virginia Beach,Virginia; the Ashcroft Group, L.L.C. inWashington, DC; and the ChesapeakePublic Defender’s Office inChesapeake, Virginia. She was sworn-in as a member of the Virginia Bar inDecember.

As the newest of the Foundation’sthirteen attorneys, Hartsfield will helpbuild on the Foundation’s litigationrecord for union-abused workers.

NLRB Power Grab Faces Foundation Challengecontinued from page 1

by unilateral Presidential appointmentearlier this year, despite the fact that theSenate was not in a self-declared recess.

Foundation attorneys argue that thecontroversial appointments to the Boardare not constitutional because the Senatewas still in session when the Presidentannounced his “recess appointments.”Consequently, the NLRB lacks the threemember quorum needed to implementthe new posting rules.

National Right to Work’s legal chal-lenge to the recess appointment is alsoattracting attention in the U.S. Senate.Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) - a staunchsupporter of Right to Work - announcedthat he will be filing an amicus brief inthe Foundation’s case challenging theappointment along with Senators JimDeMint (R-SC) and Mike Lee (R-UT).

Foundation challengesappointments in sixadditional cases

Although the National Right to WorkFoundation’s federal court case was thefirst challenge to Obama’s attempted“recess appointments,” Foundationattorneys aren't stopping there.

Foundation attorneys have also filedmotions with the NLRB to disqualifyPresident Barack Obama’s recent pur-ported recess appointees to the agencyfrom participating in six cases pendingbefore the Board. In those six cases,Foundation staff attorneys representemployees whose rights have been vio-lated by compulsory unionism abuses.

Foundation attorneys argue thatbecause the appointments are unconsti-tutional, the Board lacks the quorumnecessary to hear any cases. Raising theissue now before the rogue NLRB ruleson their cases strengthens the ability ofthe employees to challenge the recess

appointees’ authority after they issue aruling.

Recess appointees poisedto bolster Obama’s forced-unionism agenda

The three new appointees join anNLRB that has already demonstrated aclear pro-union bias since the beginningof the Obama Administration. One ofthe appointees, Richard Griffin, actuallyserved as general counsel for theInternational Union of OperatingEngineers (IUOE) and continues toreceive a regular IUOE pension.

Griffin has ostensibly pledged torefrain participating in cases that mightaffect his personal finances, but givenformer SEIU lawyer and NLRB memberCraig Becker’s disregard for potentialconflicts of interest, it’s impossible toknow if Griffin will actually followthrough on his assurances.

“President Obama, intent on reward-ing his Big Labor allies, has illegallyappointed three new NLRB members,”said Mark Mix, President of theNational Right to Work Foundation. “Abiased notice posting scheme is just oneexample of how this President’sappointees have hijacked the Board toreward Big Labor.”

Foundation AddsNew Staff Attorneyto Legal Team

Senator Rand Paul,a supporter ofRight to Work,announced he willfile a legal brief insupport of theNational Right toWork Foundation'schallenge toObama's unconsti-tutional recessappointments.

January/February 2012 Foundation Action 7

We are quickly approaching theApril tax deadline and manyNational Right to Work Foundationdonors are considering tax-savingoptions with careful financial plan-ning goals.

It is more important than ever,because this is an election year, toreview proposed changes in eco-nomic and tax policy. There remain,however, a number of areas of cer-tainty regarding the best ways tomake charitable gifts to the Right toWork Foundation in 2012 – advan-tages that may cease to exist after thisyear.

For this reason, you may wish toaccelerate your charitable gifts youhad previously planned to make overa longer period of time. Of course,we urge all of our donors to consultwith their own tax advisor, account-ant, or attorney to receive the maxi-mum tax benefit.

Here are just a few options thatmay be the right fit for you in reach-ing the maximum tax benefit:

Your continued generosity makesit possible for the Foundation to stepup and assist many more union-abused workers and combat unioncoercive power across the country.

If you have any questions regard-ing a specific planned gift or wouldlike to make a gift of stock, pleasecontact Ginny Smith by email atplannedgiving@nrtw.org or by call-ing 1-800-336-3600. Thank you foryour interest and generosity.

Planned Giving: Cost-Effective Ways to Reduce Your Tax Hit

Donations of Stock or Securities

Electronic Transfer of Securities to: Bank of America, N.A.100 W. 33rd StreetNew York, NY 10001

Beneficiary: Merrill Lynch11951 Freedom Drive, 17th Floor

Reston, VA 20190Routing (ABA) Number: 026009593

DTC# 5198Account # 6550113516

C/O National Right to Work Legal Defense and Education Foundation, Inc.Foundation Account #86Q-04155

Gifts of CashCash, in the form of a check or

a credit card gift, is the mostcommon method of making acharitable gift to the Foundation.Gifts of cash can reduce eitherregular or alternative minimumincome taxes. Your actual sav-ings depends on your tax rateand other factors. Beginningnext year, reductions in the valueof income tax deductions forhigher income taxpayers arescheduled to be restored, so giftscompleted in 2012 may save youmore.Gifts of Stock

If you own low-yieldingstocks, mutual funds, or othersecurities that have increased invalue since they were purchased,you may want to consider usingthem to make a charitable gift tothe Foundation. Appreciatedsecurities are subject to a capitalgains tax when they are sold.

Gifts of stock may be deducted inamounts totaling up to 30 per-cent of your AGI limit.

Long-Term Planned GiftMany donors have expressed

an interest in making a plannedgift through charitable gift annu-ities, charitable remainder trusts,and charitable lead trusts. Weencourage everyone to start earlywith your plan of action to pro-vide for your loved ones and yourfavorite charity, like the Right toWork Foundation.

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8 Foundation Action January/February 2012

Message from Mark Mix

PresidentNational Right to WorkLegal Defense Foundation

Dear Foundation Supporter,

2012 has barely started and there is already so much to report, asyour Foundation continues the fight against forced unionism.

On January 10, National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneyJim Young argued before the U.S. Supreme Court — our fifteenth suchtrip to the High Court — to take on a corrupt Service EmployeesInternational Union (SEIU) political fundraising scheme.

Soon after, your Foundation filed the first legal challenge toPresident Barack Obama’s unconstitutional “recess” appointments to theNational Labor Relations Board (NRLB), garnering national media atten-tion on television, on the Internet, and in newspapers across the country.This is not just an important fight for our cause but for defending ourconstitutional republic from an out-of-control executive branch.

Meanwhile, states across the country are moving to protectworker freedom, and Right to Work is proving to be a crucial issue in thepresidential primaries.

And with presidential, congressional, and state elections nation-wide this fall, we’re prepared for Big Labor’s biggest political spendingblitz ever. No small feat given the over $2 BILLION union bosses spenton the 2010 election.

It’s an exciting but challenging time for the Foundation, andthanks to the continued generosity of our supporters, we will remainleaders on some of the most critical battles of our time.

Sincerely,

Mark Mix

P.S. Indiana became America’s 23rd Right to Work state at 2:44 p.m.February 1!

nevertheless filed for review with theU.S. Circuit Court for D.C.

“Despite a tough economy, Teamsterbosses had no qualms about discrimi-nating against certain employeesbecause they didn’t belong to the ‘right’union,” said Patrick Semmens, legalinformation director for the NationalRight to Work Foundation. “It shouldnot have been necessary to resort todrawn-out litigation to hold Teamsterofficials accountable, but we’re pleasedthat the NLRB ruled Coghill shouldreceive the back pay union bosses triedto deny him.”

“Until Big Labor’s many government-granted special powers are repealed,this type of abuse will continue as unionbosses intimidate and retaliate againstworkers who refuse to toe the unionline,” concluded Semmens.

Army Wives

continued from page 2

Newsclips Requested

The Foundation askssupporters to keep their

scissors sharp for clipping newsitems exposing the role union

officials play in disruptive strikes,outrageous lobbying,

and political campaigning.Please clip any stories that appear

in your local paperand mail them to:

NRTWLDFAttention: Newsclip Appeal

8001 Braddock RoadSpringfield, VA 22160

Supporters can also emailonline stories to wfc@nrtw.org

FoundationActionFoundationAction

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3

4

6

7

Foundation Helps Driver Win$55K in Back Pay fromTeamster Bosses

IN THIS ISSUE

Vol. XXXII, No. 1 8001 Braddock Road • Springfield, Virginia 22160 www.nrtw.org January/February 2012

The bi-monthly newsletterof the National Right to Work

Legal Defense Foundation, Inc.

Right to WorkAttorneys ChallengeConstitutionality ofObama’s NLRBAppointments

Foundation’s case marksthe first legal challenge toPresident’s attempt to installrecess appointees without anactual Senate recess

WASHINGTON, DC – On January 13,National Right to Work Foundationstaff attorneys filed a motion in federalcourt challenging the legality ofPresident Barack Obama’s recent recessappointments to the National LaborRelations Board (NLRB).

The Foundation’s legal challenge ispart of a broader case against a series ofcontroversial new NLRB rules thatrequire every employer to post incom-plete information about employee rightsonline and in the workplace, even ifthey’ve never violated or been accusedof violating federal law.

The NLRB’s posting rules do notrequire union officials to issue informa-tion about workers’ rights to refrainfrom union membership or opt out ofunion dues. Currently, employers canonly be required to post notices if the

Board has ruled that a violation of laborlaw occurred or if the Board is conduct-ing a secret-ballot representation elec-tion.

The implementation of the NLRB’snew posting rules, originally scheduledfor November of last year, has beentwice delayed due to the Foundation’slegal challenge.

Legal challenge calls NLRBrulings into question

The Foundation’s case challenging thebiased NLRB notice posting rules wasfiled in conjuction with the NationalFederation of Independent Business,and two small businesses.

The new filings in the U.S. DistrictCourt case come after NLRB lawyersannounced that President Obama’srecent recess appointees should be sub-stituted as parties to the ongoing legalbattle. Supreme Court precedent

Foundation Attorneys Take onSEIU Forced Dues PoliticalScheme at Supreme Court

South Carolina BoeingWorkers Fight Union BossAttacks on Right to WorkStates

Foundation Adds New StaffAttorney to Legal Team

Cost-Effective Ways toReduce Your Tax Hit

Obama’s uncon-stitutional recessappointments tothe NLRB set thestage for moreBig Labor give-aways.

see NLRB POWER GRAB page 6

requires at least three NLRB membersto be in office for the Board to act.However, three of the five current pur-ported NLRB members were installed